Among the Franciscan Manuscripts in Dublin is a tract sent by David Rothe, Vice-Primate of All Ireland, addressed to my "loving friend Mr. Thomas Messingham at his chambers in Paris", dated 1615.
[2] Messingham was honoured by the Holy See, was raised to the dignity of prothonotary Apostolic and acted as an agent for many Irish bishops.
In addition to seeking materials with a view to an ecclesiastical history of Ireland, Messingham was rector of the Irish College and organized the course of studies to send forth capable missionaries to work in their native country.
[3] In 1624, he published his famous work on Irish saints, Florilegium Insulæ Sanctorum, in Paris, containing also a treatise on St. Patrick's Purgatory in Lough Derg.
Messingham had a lengthy correspondence with Father Luke Wadding, O.F.M., and was frequently consulted by the Roman authorities in selecting suitable ecclesiastics to fill the vacant Irish sees.